Bottle carrier



Aug. 12, 1952 M. H. KOWAL 2,606,712

BOTTLE CARRIER Filed March 24, 1949 4 sheets-sheet 1 fforn eys M. H.KOWAL BOTTLE CARRIER Aug. 12, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 24, 1949rag? w a M L Z Z/Q W Aug. 12, 1952 M. H. KOWAL 2,606,712

BOTTLE CARRIER Filed March 24, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 614 11 214 in w x 1f I g -29B-l U 5 :l]

1 2 i/ 1 s .505 275 I 1215 26B .545 K; 2 5 y l .154 2% [1 5M I .544 264U Y 29A/- I] [504 5 7 I am 22A 244 29 7 3 5 L ma 295-1, i i i I Inventorsee 05 (265 flftfleW/YOWG/ Aug. 12, 1952 M. H. KOWAL 2,606,712

BOTTLE CARRIER Filed March 24, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 I 5011 27A 12mflvzntor filoma ya Patented Aug. 12, 1952 BOTTLE CARRIER I Michael H.Kowal, Clifton, N. 1., assignor-to Empire Box Corporation, Garfield, N.J., a

ration of Delaware Application March 24, 1949, Serial No. 83,264

1 Claim. (01. 229-428) This invention relates to bottle carriers andparticularly to bottle carriers made from cardboard or like material.

It has been customary to make bottle carriers of the general kind towhich this invention relates from cardboard or like sheet material, andsuch carriers are preferably made so as to be collapsible so that suchbottle carriers may be originally manufactured and shipped in a flatform and may be erected at the time when bottles are to be loaded intosuch carriers. In such bottle carriers it is desirable that thedimensions of each bottle carrier be minimized so as to effect aneconomy of material, and in plan-form it is essential that these bottlecarriers occupy but little greater area than. the bottles themselves sothat such carriers may be placed in ordinary bottle cases of the kindconventionally used in thetrade. It is desirable that such carriers beretained in their erected form merely by placing such carriers inposition in the cases, since it is generally considered to be desirableto load such bottle carriers while they are in position in such casesand to accomplish this with the use of conventional case-loadingmachinery.

It is an important object of the present invention to afford a bottlecarrier of the aforesaid character that is rugged and economical incharacter, extremely simple in form, and which may be readily and easilyerected. More particularly, it is an object of this invention to affordsuch a bottle carrier wherein the two rows of bottles are eifectuallyseparated by a solid central partition which also serves as a connectorfor a separate handle. A further object is to afford such a carrierwherein the elements are so formed and related that the bottlecarriermay'be constructed with the minimum number of folding and gluingoperations.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent fromthe following description and claim and are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a preferredembodiment and the principles thereof and what I now consider to be thebest mode in which I have contemplated applying those principles. Otherembodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent principlesmay be used and structural changes may be made as desired by thoseskilled in the art without departing from the present invention and thepurview of the appended claim.

In the. drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an erected bottle carrier embodyingthefeatures of the invention;

' 2 Figs. 2 and 3 are side and end views; respectively, of the bottlecarrier showing the form thereof when the carrier is in its flat orcollapsed condition;

Fig. 4 is a face view of the blank used in ing the carrier of Fig. 1;and

Figs. 5 to 10 are views on a reduced scale and showing the successivesteps in the folding and gluing of the carrier. 7 v

For purposes of disclosure the inventionis herein illustrated asembodied in a bottle carrier Zil'made from cardboard or like materialand having a separately formed metallic handle' H made from wire andassociated therewith in a manner that enables convenient lifting andtransporting of the carrier and its load of bottles.

The bottle carrier 20 embodies a pair of side walls 2| A and HE that areconnected at oppo site ends by end walls 22 and 23, and the lower edgesof the side walls 2 IA and 2 [B are connected by a bottom wall thatincludes panels 24A' and 243. The space within the bottle carrier isdi-.

vided into six square compartments, each adapt-- ed to snugly receive abottle of a predetermined size, and suchcompartments are arranged in.two

rows of three compartments each disposed on op-- posite sides of acentral division Wall 25 that is.

located midway between the two side walls HA and 2| B. On opposite sidesof the central division wall'25, transverse partitions are affordedtocomplete the subdivision of the space within; the

carrier,-and such partitions are disposed in -vertical planes and areidentified as webs 26A and 26B adjacent to the end wall 22 and webs 21Aand 21B adjacent to the end wall 23; It will be observed in Fig. 1 ofthe drawings that the. central division wall 25 is somewhat higherthan'the end walls 22 and 23 and is made up .in three sections. As willbecomeevident hereinafter, the section of the division wall 25- that isadjacent to the end wall 22 is afforded by a pair-of opposed panels 28Aand 283; the section that. is adjacent to the end wall 23 is of doublethickness and is formed by a panel 29A and a relatively wide glue flap29B and a relatively narrow glue flap 29B-l while the intermediatesection of the central partition wall is of single thickness andisafforded by a panel 303. It will also be observed that the end wall 22is afiorded by a pairof similar panels 22A and 22B, while the end wall23is formed by similar panels 23A and 2313. The central partition panels28A and 283 have a vertical opening or slot 3| formed therein to receivethe hook-shaped lower portion of one side'fof the handle H, and asimilar slot 3| that isshownin Fig. 4 'o'f th'e drawings is afforded inthepanels mak- 3 29A and 2813 to receive the other connecting portion ofthe handle H.

As pointed out hereinabove, the central division wall is somewhat higherthan the end walls 22 and 23, as will be evident in Fig. l of thedrawings, and this upward extension of the central partition 25 abovethe tops of the end walls 22 and 23 is substantially equal to thevertical dimension of the webs 26A, 26B, 21A and 27B. Thus this upwardextension of the central division wall 25 enables the inner or adjacentends of these webs to be pivotally associated therewith, and to enablesimilar association of the outer ends of these webs with the respectiveside walls 2 lA and 2 IB, these side walls have integral and rigidlyrelated upward extensions formed thereon in the middle one-thirdthereof, such extension being identified as l2 IA on the wall 2 IA, andas l2lB on the wall ZIB. Each such extension IZIA and I2IB is formed inan integral and uncreased relation. with respect to its side wall, andthe oppositeendedges of these extensions-serve to afford vertical pivotsfor the outer ends of the respective separating webs aswill hereinafterbecome apparent.

In the constructionbf the bottle carrier of Figs. 1 to3, acardboardblankis utilized in the form shown in'Fig. 4 of the drawings.In this blank it will be noted that thetwobottom panels 24A and 24B arejoinedalong a central. fold line 35. On the other side edge of thebottom panel'MA, the lower edge of the side wall 2IA isconnected along afold line 31A. At the right end of the side wall 21A, one vertical edgeof the-end panel 22A is-connected along a fold line 38A, the other edgeof the end panel 22A being connected along a' fold line 38A to one edgeof the; separating panel 28A.

At the'other or left-handend of the side wall 21A as viewed in Fig.4,one edge of the end panel 23A" is joined-along a fold line- 45A, theother edge of this end panel 23A being connected: along a fold lineGSAto one edge of the panel 29A;

Onlthe other side of the central longitudinal fold line the variouselements of the blankv are formed and relatedlina generally similarmanner, but'in a reverse relationship, and cor-- responding fold linesand other elements are identified by the same reference'characters' withthe suflix B in each instance. Thus the bottom panel 243 is connectedto-thelower edge of the side wall ME by a fold line 3113. At the rightend of the side wall 213 a fold line 38B joins the side wallto one edgeof the end panel 22B.

At its other edge, the end panel 223 is connected along a fold line 3913to one edge of the panel 28B, the other edge of this panel 28B beingdefined in part by a weakened fold line 40B. The other side edge of thepanel 283 is indicated by av dot dash line 41B, which thus indicates oneside edge of the panel 39B, a dot dash line 42B being employedto showthe junction of the other edge of. the panel 30B with the glue flap29B-I, and it should'be observed. that the lines 41B and 42B are merelyschematic, and that the panels 28B and 3GB and theglue flap 29B-Iare-all formed in a rigid and uncreased relation to each other. At theother end of the side wall. 21B, the end panel 23B is joined along afold line 453, andthe other edge of this'end panel 23B- is connected'along a fold line 4613- to one edge of the glue flap 29B. v

Since the extensionslZlA and IZIB and the various panels that form thecentral division wall 25 are higher than the end walls and the otherportions of the side walls in an amount substantially equal to thevertical dimensions of the separating web-s, as 26A, these webs mayunder the present invention be formed from the material that is, in theblank, aligned with the extensions IZIA and IZIB, and portions of suchmaterial are utilized in association with the inner ends'of such webs tofacilitate pivotal association of these inner ends with the centraldivision wall 25. Thus the web 27A is joined along a vertical fold lineA with the adjacent end edge of the etxension EZIA, and a horizontalslit 48A extends from thelower end of the fold line 41A past theupper'endfof the fold line 45A and terminates at the upper end of thefold line 46A. Aligned with the fold lines 45A and 36A, upper fold lines45A-l and 43A-l are afforded which extend between the slit 48A and theupper edge of the blank, and thus there is defined a connector web 56Awhich is pivoted at its oppostie ends to the edge ofthe panel 29A andthe inner end of the web 21A. A similar but reversed construction isafforded in respect to the web 2713, thereby to afford a similarlyrelated connector web 503.

The web 36A is similarl defined at its opposite ends by fold lines EIAand 33A-I, while its lower edge is defined by a slit 52A which extendsfrom the lower end of the fold line 51A to the upper end of the foldline 39A, and a slit 53A extended upwardly in alignment with the slit39A and to the upper edge of the blank. A connector web EMA for the web26A is defined between the slits 52A and 53A and the fold line 38A-i.

With the blank shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings, the successive gluingand folding operations may be performed insubstantially the sequenceshown comparatively by Figs. 5 to 10, inclusive of the drawings, but forpurposes of clarity of disclosure, these folding and gluing operationsare shown in considerable detail and in many instances it may bedesirable t perform at least certain of such folding and gluingoperations concurrently rather than in sequence as illustrated in theaforesaid series of views. Thus the blank is passed into the machine inthe direction of the arrow 55 in Fig. 5, and as the first operation inthe formation of the carrier from the blank of Fig. 4, glue is appliedto a glue area G-l on the inner faces of the panel 308 and the glue flap29B-l near what are to be the upper portions or edges thereof. The firstfolding operation is then performed by folding the separating webs 26Aand 26B along the fold lines 46A and 45B from the relationship shown inFig. 5 to the relationship shown in Fig. 6. The panels 22A and 22B arethen folded along the fold lines 38A and 36B from the relation of Fig. 6to the relation of Fig. '7. This locates the glue area G-l opposite theareas G-IX and G-IY shown in Fig. 6 on the web 54B and the web 503, sothat the panel 30B is secured to the attaching web 54B while the glueflap 29B-l is fastened to a portion of the attaching web 503. After thisfolding operation, glue is applied to the panels 29A and 23B near whatare to be the upper edges thereof, as shown in Fig. 8. The panels 253Aand 29B are then folded along the fold lines 46A and ASA-l and 46B and463-], respectively, from the positions shown in Fig. 8 to the positionsshown in Fig. 9.v This brings the glue areas G-2 into contact with areasG-2X and G-2Y of the webs 56A and 503, respectively, so that thesepanels 29A and 2915 in their upper portions are thereby secured to therespective webs 50A and 50B.

When the blank has been folded to the relationship shown in Fig. 9, glueis applied in glue areas G-3 shown in Fig. 9, and the blank as shown inFig. 9 is then in condition for the final folding operation. The blankis then folded along the central fold line 35 from the relationshipshown in Fig. 9 to the relationship shown in Fig. 10, so that the panels28A and 28B are glued together; the panel 29A is glued to the opposedglue flaps 29B and 29B-l; and the attaching web 50A is glued to theupper border portion of the panel 303, it being noted that the attachingweb 508 has previously been secured to the opposite upper border face ofthe panel 303 so that this single thickness portion of the centraldivision wall 25 is reenforced by the two webs 50A and MB.

The carrier 20, by the folding operation that has just been described,is completed in the collapsed form shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 10 of thedrawings, and the carrier is normally shipped and stored in thiscollapsed form. When the carrier is to be erected, opposing forces maybe applied to the side wall 2lB at the right-hand end thereof as viewedin Fig. 2 and to the lefthand edge of the end wall 233. This causes thecarrier to move toward the relationship shown in Fig. 1, and when thismovement has been continued until the central partition 25 is alignedwith the side walls, the carrier will assume the fully erectedrelationship shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings. In this fully erectedcondition,

the carrier of the present invention may be disposed in the conventionalcases used in the bottle industry, and the bottle loading operations maybe performed readily and easily, and conventional case loading machinerymay be used if desired. The handle H may, of course, be inserted eitherbefore or after loading of the carriers.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that the presentinvention enables a preformed collapsible bottle carrier to be made fromcardboard and like materials in a simple and economical manner, and thebottle carrier of the present invention is of such a character that itis rugged in its structural characteristics despite the simplicity ofits form, It will also be evident that the present bottle carriereliminates the necessity for angular bottle separating webs and for theuse of a two-piece construction in attaining horizontally extendingbottle separating webs. Moreover, the present bottle carrier through theuse of structure of a simple char acter, provides a complete enclosurefor the bottles, it being noted that the present carrier has end wallsthat extend entirely to the bottoms of the bottles.

It will also be apparent that the present invention enables bottlecarriers to be formed and constructed with the minimum of material andwith the minimum of forming and, gluing operations. Moreover, it will beevident that bottle carriers made under and in accordance with thepresent invention may be erected through the application of relativelysmall force to the extended edges of the wall structures, and in itserected form the bottle carrier has bottle receiving compartmentsdefined by the narrow upper edges of the various side, end and partitionwalls and the separating webs, thereby to facilitate loading of thecarrier.

Thus, while I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment ofmy invention, it is to be understood that this is capable of variationand modification and I therefore do not Wish to be limited to theprecise details set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changesand alterations as fall within the purview of the following claim.

I claim:

A one-piece open-topped compartmented bottle carrier formed fromcardboard or like material and comprising, when erected, bottom and sidewalls, center and cross partitions, and end walls each comprised of twopanels interconnected at their inner ends along vertically disposed foldlines, the end and side walls and the partitions defining sixcompartments disposed in two rows of three each, the center partitionbeing formed by inwardly disposed extensions of the panels at oppositeends of the carrier partially overlapped and interconnected one with theother, an upward extension on the top edge of each side wall extendingthe width of the adjacent center compartment and projecting upwardlybeyond the level of the top edge of the side walls of each of theadjacent end compartments, and webs integral with said extension andrespectively joined to the ends thereof along vertically disposed foldlines and extended inwardly of the carrier and forming the crosspartitions, and other webs integrally joined to the inner ends of thefirst named webs and forming part of the center partition and securedthereto and effective to retain the first named webs in position toafford the cross partitions.

MICHAEL H. KOWAL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,157,712 Miller Oct. 26, 12151,985,075 Bird Dec. 18, 1934 2,322,396 Slevin June 22, 1943 2,335,022OReilly Nov. 23, 1943 2,345,746 Goodyear Apr. 4, 1944 2,354,369 GilbertJuly 25, 1944 2,359,678 Ringler Oct. 3, 1944 2,418,350 Holy Apr. 1, 19472,431,932 Hall Dec. 2, 1947 2,458,281 Lupton Jan. 4, 1949

